Sophia Rose Review: A Brush With Shadows by Anna Lee Huber

A Brush with Shadows by Anna Lee Huber
Series: Lady Darby Mystery #6
Published by Berkley Books on March 6, 2018
Genres: Historical Mystery
Pages: 375
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
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Sebastian Gage returns home to battle the ghosts of his past and prevent them from destroying his future with Kiera in the latest exciting installment in this national bestselling series.
July 1831. It's been fifteen years since Sebastian Gage has set foot in Langstone Manor. Though he has shared little with his wife, Lady Kiera Darby, about his past, she knows that he planned never to return to the place of so many unhappy childhood memories. But when an urgent letter from his grandfather reaches them in Dublin, Ireland, and begs Gage to visit, Kiera convinces him to go.
All is not well at Langstone Manor. Gage's grandfather, the Viscount Tavistock, is gravely ill, and Gage's cousin Alfred has suddenly vanished. He wandered out into the moors and never returned. The Viscount is convinced someone or something other than the natural hazards of the moors is to blame for Alfred's disappearance. And when Alfred's brother Rory goes missing, Kiera and Gage must concede he may be right. Now, they must face the ghosts of Gage's past, discover the truth behind the local superstitions, and see beyond the tricks being played by their very own eyes to expose what has happened to Gage's family before the moors claim yet another victim...

 

It was inevitable. The series brings Kiera and Gage right back where he started- unfinished business with his maternal family living on the dark and mysterious moors. His grandfather’s plea for his help to find his missing cousin sets them on a search that delves into present and past family secrets including the family curse. I love this series so I required no hook to get me reading, but it sure didn’t hurt.

A Brush with Shadows is the sixth of the Lady Darby Mysteries set in 1830’s British Isles. Each mystery is fresh for each book, but it is a series that works best read in order because of the ongoing romance and relationships built through the stories.

Just finishing up their last case in Ireland, the Gages now go on to Dart Moor for a case that involves family. Newly wed and still tentative in some ways, Kiera and Gage do great with some forms of intimacy while struggling with others. He has been reticent about much of his past and seeing him in the brooding surroundings of his Trevalyan family urge her to force him to share his private pains and hurts though yes, Kiera’s temper and impatience gets the best of her so her poking and prodding is not always opportune even if it is necessary and cathartic for Gage. I enjoy seeing this pair’s relationship grow and deepen as much as I enjoy the mysteries.

The disappearance of his older, profligate cousin who bullied him as a child, forces Gage along with Kiera to return after a fifteen year absence to an unwelcome reception. The mystery was a bit ethereal for much of the book because the disappearance could have been for many reasons and it could mean a death or just a person gone. Alfred was not liked and it seemed everyone had a reason to see him gone and nearly everyone was acting like they could have done it.

As in the previous books set in the highlands and then border country of Scotland, Edinburgh, and then Ireland, this latest that depicts the moors was richly described so that I felt I was there. I loved the way this one set up with them in an atmospheric home with residents to match, the wild countryside, the neighbors, and even the hint of a witch and legends. It brought added tension and chills to the story so that I never wanted to put the book down.

So, all in all, this latest Lady Darby mystery was captivating and the series continues to hold strong. Historical mystery fans who enjoy a strong romance motif should definitely jump into these. I can’t wait to press on to the next book.